Gravity operating device for sorting fruits or vegetables



June 19, 1934. OLNEY' 1,963,671

' GRAYITY OPERATING DEVICE FOR SORTING FRUITS 0R VEGETABLES Filed Nov. 7. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 O INVENTOR George J Olnca ATTORNEYS June' 19,1934.

GRAVITY OPERATING DEVICE FOR SORTING FR Filed NOV. 7, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 19, 1934. G. J. OLNEY 1,963,671

GRAVITY OPERA-TING DEVICE FOR SORTING FRUITS OR VEGFTABLES Filed Nov. 7. 1932 :s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR- George J. OM93 ATTORNEYS Patented June 19, 1934 GRAVI Y. OPERATING DEYIQE...- SORL George J. Olney,.Weste1-nvil le,N Y. Application November 7, 133g, Seral No. Claims. (C l. 299 -173) My p resent invention relatestoa machine for sorting orcleaning fruit or vegetables which ma;

chineloperates upon the floatation principle, that.

is the machine uses a liquid inv which themateirial to; be cleanedzonsorted is separated according. to the differing gravity of the good (material andv thewaste.- or .poor materiallrelative. to the gravity oi the-.liquidor sorted acco'rding tothe. difierent gravity. of two grades. of goodmaterial.

1Q. This invention is a'fur'ther" development of,.and

improvement? upon my invention inv a somewhat s milar machine. shown ,in my co-pending. ap-. plication Serial.No..522,349 filedMarch 13,, 1931 upon which a patentwasissued February 28, 1933,,N0. 1,899,632... v

The purpose of thisiinventionuisto providea new} and. improved machine of the. type v mentioned and particularlyto provide. a. machine in whichthe sorting operation. is I. performed. or 2(1 completedmuchfaster, say in from-one and .one-

half to six-seconds.asiagainshauperiod heretofore. lasting up. .to twentyv seconds, such. reduced time of?separationefiectinga more accurate and positive separation in that thelighterorwaste materials. or. poor; material...does. .not. have .time to become saturated withthe liquid andso bepassed by .the. machine as..good,-material instead of waste materialorbe passed with the wrong grade when twoygoodgrades are being separated.- 1 Another advantage of so speedingup the period N of separationisthat the machine can begstopped much. quicker. aftertheoperatQr. ceases.- to. feed new materials to .the machine. 1 Another obj ect. of, this inventionis to provide amachineof sucharrangement and combination of-its parts andof such arrangement of thefeed ing. of material,andv the. feeding of. thefliquid into the machine and the passing of the. liquid but of the. machine as. to. prevent the formation of any current, orflcurrentsofl liquid which will interfere or prevent. the quick and accurate separation of the fruit or vegetablebeing. separated.

Still. further purposes of this-machine are. as follows-z. To provide. means for. depositing the material tobesorted andits: accompanying liq.-.

uid'. uponv the surface. ofthe. separating; zone gently. enough. toQallow floatation separation to begin. in'nnediately. and without causing interferihgcurrent of liquid in the separating zone; to. continuously spread. the incoming material. in allconstantly moving. line over an, annular sepe arating zone]: .tohave. theskimming, means fol.- low-saidv delivery 'meansqat a determinedgbut adjustable distance andto have saidskimming means. extendjo'ver the samezone as the delivering means .cover; to provide convenient. and. accurate. means. for timing .the, intervalgbetween, delivery and the arrivainf the sk mm ng infg ns to any given portion or. material'iandftd .prfiylidfe" means for accurately. adjusting such 1 inteiival ofj 5 time; to provide conven ent jandaccurate .means for adjusting. the .de'pth...of the skimming m'chl anismlrelative to. the level'pf the liquidffandf ther .jtolfeedinto .theima'chine sufficientjliquid oj carry on the; .two discharge operations, that is'lof.v good.heavy' materialand poor lightlmaterial, but. to feed the inc ing liquid into ,themachine. at difierentplacesl and-in such a mam-a mo. pro. vide currents, jof .li'quid'ior the .outgc'iing...mat'er i'al",- but topreventthe. formation or, a currentp infthe 0. separatingjzoneg' to formthe. chutes distributing" the material and'someliquid to. the separa zone so that such material andliquidwillgbei distributedevenly and regularly and Fin a .thin' layer over the width of the separating lzoneg' to sol' shape and combine thefixedspoutleadi'rfg to the centralhopper having the saidchute's. so that theportions of the, .said hopperjleading to thefdiiierentjchuteswill receiveanequalamount of material andiliquid and will.pass siichinater'. rial on to the said chutes inaneven, regular and continuous manner. 1 'I I Fji'g. l 'is a vertical longitudinal. sectional View through. a machine embodying. this] invention mostly on line la-i fofjigiZ. Fig Z'fiS. a horizontal sectional..view...of said machinemostlv on line 2-''2 of,Fig 1.. r Fig. 3 is a view' similarltoFigQ 1 of ..the .di$=. tributing .chutes, itsbpen-ltoppedhopper, thetwo depending. flanges which Iimitthe i'separating zone, the'funnel located within theinnerffiange and the, vertical. shaft. which carries. at. its. lower end the foregoing I parts.

. Fig. 4 is a rear. viewv on'aconsiderablyjenlarged scale offone endv of the delivery chute? and ,Ya' l'. .5. jagent parts ofjthe machine .approximatelyron line..4f4' .of Fig.7."

Fi ...v 5 is a view mostly. in. side elevation..of,..the outer end ofa deliveryj chute. as 'seenjon' line 5 i ig 4}. 2 'Fig. 6.is a topplanand; sectionalfview on line 6+ fi"0' f Rig. 3; of the zoneeformingfl'anges, .th funnelfwithin the inner; flange andthe' Skimmers between; the. fian fi and the;supportingfparts r therefor. 1g.)

Fig. 7 is .a top plan .view..of, the-hopper; and distributing, chutes and the. supporting shaftii'i sectionseparatefro'm'. otherf'pai'tts of thel ma'chi ne. Referringjto the. drawingsin a more specific @q P ea i w ll be. een; ha be. maq ek 1 eludes a suitable framework having upright standards 10 and cross bars 11, a large outer main tank 12 supported by said framework, an inner tank 13 fixed as by spacers '77 within the central portion of said larger tank, material feeding or delivery chutes 14 receiving the material and some liquid from a centrally-disposed open-topped hopper 15 attached to said chutes and a pair of flanges or collars, namely an outer circular flange 16, a smaller-diametered concentric flange 1'7 and a funnel 18 occupying the space within said inner flange.

The outer main tank 12 is preferably formed so as to have its larger part in the form of an inverted cone surmounted by a relatively short cylindrical portion. This is accomplished conveniently by having the larger portion of said tank 12 composed of an inwardly and downwardly sloping wall 19 surmounted at the top by a short cylindrical vertical wall 20. At its bottom this tank is provided with an outlet port 21 opening into a return bend 22 the other end of which is connected to the upwardly and outwardly slanting pipe 23. This pipe 23 extends upwardly just outside the sloping portion of the tank 12. Just below the water level 24 in the tank 12 the pipe 23 extends outwardly substantially in a horizontal line into the near end of a suitable revolving cylindrical screen 25 for separating the good heavy material from the liquid. Extending tangently into the return bend 22 more or less in line with the pipe 23 there is provided a pipe 26 adapted to feed liquid into said bend and up through said inclined pipe 23 and operating more or less as an injector so as to produce a current of liquid from the bottom of the tank 12 out through its lower port 21 and up through said pipe 23.

The smaller tank 13 has its lower half formed of an inwardly and downwardly slanting wall 2'7 forming an inverted cone preferably of substantially the same angle as the inverted cone of the lower part'of the main tank, but fixedly spaced a short distance from said main tank so as to provide a restricted passageway 34 between said two tanks leading downwardly to the port 21 at the bottom of the outer tank. The upper half of the said smaller tank has a cylindrical wall 28. From the upper edge of this cylindrical portion there extends inwardly a top 29 which slants slightly downward as it extends inwardly. Towards'its center, this top ceases but is connected to a downwardly extending sleeve 30 into which extends and rotatably fits the lower tubular spout portion 31 of the funnel 18. A short distance below the lower end of the spout 31 the sleeve 30 is connected to a pipe 32 which extends radially outward on a slight downward slant through the wall 28 of the inner tank and through the sloping wall 19 of the outer tank and ultimately into the receiving end of a suitable cylindrical rotating screen 33 adapted to separate the light or waste material from its carrying liquid. It will be seen that there is formed between the upper part of the outer tank 12 and the upper part of the smaller inner tank 13 an annular chamber of considerable area at the top but of gradually reduced size as the chamber extends toward the passageway 34 formed between the lower parts of said two tanks and leading to the outlet port 21.

The function of this inner tank is to set an inner bound to the annular chamber within the main or larger tank 12. The main chamber within this inner tank in fact remains empty of Water or materials, but at the center of the inner tank and immediately below its top 29 and about the sleeve 30 there is formed a relatively small annular water collar or chamber '78 by means of an angularly shaped band '79 circular in form having its opposite edges attached respectively to the said top 29 and the sleeve 30. Several small spaced outlets 35 from this water collar are provided in the top wall thereof, viz: in the portion of the top 29 of the tank 13 that is above said water collar. The single inlet opening 36 into the small water collar 78 is preferably located on the vertical side of the band '79 and is connected to the inner tangentially arranged end of water pipe 37 which then extends through the empty main chamber of the inner tank and through the Wall of said inner tank itself and through the passageway 34 and through the slanting wall 19 of the outer tank and then connects to the main liquid supply pipe 38 coming from the pump 39. It will be seen that the sleeve 30 and pipe 32 extending therefrom do not open into the chamber of the inner tank.

Mounted in upper and lower bearings 40 and 41 respectively secured to upper and lower cross bars 11 of the frame there is provided a powerdriven vertical shaft 42. This shaft has its axis in line with the vertical axial center of said main tank and the smaller tank. Suitably secured near the lower end of said shaft is a hub 43 and thereabove is placed a rigid disk and supporting member 44. Above the disk there has been placed upon the said shaft the combined hopper and delivery chute member consisting of the twochambered open-topped hopper 15 and the two outwardly extending chutes 14. The said disk 44 is provided with a series of closely spaced holes 45 extending in a circle about said disk in order to allow for the axial adjustment of the said delivery chutes 14 relative to the disk which is fixed relative to the shaft 42 and the hub 43.

As it is necessary to adjust the shaft 42 vertically in order to adjust certain parts carried by the said shaft relative to the liquid level in the main tank, the worm gear 46 used to drive said shaft 42 is secured to said shaft by a spline 4'7 engaging a keyway in said shaft whereby said worm gear may slide longitudinally of the shaft as the shaft is adjusted vertically relative to the bearings carrying said shaft and of course vertically relative to the tank. Such adjustment of the shaft is accomplished by the use of an adjusting nut 48 engaging said shaft above a false collar 49 immediately above the upper bearing 40.

Projecting rigidly outwardly from the hub 43 on the shaft 42 there are provided a plurality, say four, rotating arms 50 which extend outwardly immediately above the outer and inner flanges 16 and 1'7 and support said flanges as by the use of short vertically arranged fingers 51 depending from each arm and secured to the upper edges of said flanges. The outer flange 16 is spaced as close as practicable to the adjacent cylindrical portion 20 of the outer or main tank 12 and extends downwardly vertically but terminates short of the adjacent portion of the tank. The inner flange 17 is considerably deeper and extends down some distance past the upper edge of the inner tank 13 and is spaced some distance from the vertical wall of said inner tank. These two flanges by setting down into the liquid establish or determine the separating zone 52 of the machine. Such separating zone is in the form of a ring extending about the main tank. Some distance down from the outer edge of the inner flange- 17 there is securely -and imperfo'rately at tached the outer'edge ofsthe' funnel 18; The main: body-of-this funnel extends -slantingly= inwardly towards the-axial center of the tanks and is'there' provided with the downwardly projecting spout 31' rotatably fitting' -into thesleeve 30- -already mentioned as provided in the center 'ofthe inner tank 13. 1 i

r The machine here described is arrangedto-have two oppositely arranged material delivery chutes 14: It will be understood, however, that this is simply a preferred and convenientform of assembling the machine and that obviously-ama chine may be built embodyingtheprinciplebf my machine while provided with only one del-iv-- ery chute 14. On the other 'hand with- -a sufficiently large machine and ma machine-operating upon materials that y can be -seperated in liquid very-quickly, the number'of' -these delivery chutes might be increased to three or-"eve'n to four; A machine using two-delivery chutes, how-' ever, isbelievedto bethe preferred form-as this provides 'a sufliciently large capacity for'th'e machine and-provides a sufficient-range of space be-"-' tween each delivery chute -14and -itsco-operating and following skimmer andstill-allows-a posi-' tive and even division of the material and liquid between'the two chutes as the material and liquid are delivered into the two-chamberedhopper hereinafter described.

As the machine is illustrated, the'shaft 42 and accordingly-the parts spspended therefrom andincludirig'the chutes 14 and the skimmers-ESSjwill rotate anticlockwise as seen in'Figs; 6and'7.

Oppositely spaced about the two inner flanges 17 there are provided tworelatively-large openings or ports 54 in saidinner flange. These ports accordingly establish a free communication'from the separating zone 52 between the two flanges and the'space' within the inner flange and so directly over the-funnel 18. Through these'ports there'is intended to pass the'li'ght or wastematerial that has beenheldby its -.lightnessupon or, close to the surface .of the liquidfollowingits deposit by, the preceding'delivery chute 14 upon the liquid. In orderphowever; to'have a positive gathering of all of 'this' light orwaste'mate rialithat has come from the preceding'chute, the skimmer p53isiprovidedvsoasto catch and'inwardlydeflect all of the said'lightfloating material andalso a considerable portion oftheliquid carrying the same fromthe 'separating'zone into the space over the funnel 18;" Eachskimmer'consists' of. a fan-.shaped'bottom' 55. The curved inner edge of this bottom is secured to the inner flange 17 atithe bottom edge of'the port"54;' At, the rear. edge of the skimmer; that is the edge farthest awayfrom the preceding'delivery chute 14, the skimmer has an upstandingbackfiGextending from the rear edge oftheport uponthe inner flange outwardlyto the. outer flange 16 The back 56'of1the skimmer 53' and accordingly the pended therefrom the hub-43, rotating armsand the 'innerxand outer: fiangeswi16:-':anda-17'iandthe Skimmers .53; has .for "one of :itslmain :purposes the vertical adjustment of the skimmers :53: relative to the liquid level -241 inthe separating zone 52; The Skimmers should be set'farlenough downinto the liquid so asto skim. offflfromltheseparating zone all of the-light floating material" and also so 'asto deflect-into the'funnelnl8lwith said light floating material the :proper :amount of liquid to flow-ofi such-light material.--

For the purpose-of more deflnitely de'scribing the machine and'its operation but without being limited to the precise proportions of liquid--"supplied at the different parts of the-machine or -tak-' en from the machine at difierent parts, it'may-"be said" that asatisfactory and elhcientarrange: ment and adjustment ofthe-machine is to have about one-half of the total liquid used by-the machine fed into the hopper 15 with the incom ing-materials' to be sorted as by fixing the size of pipe 57 and properly setting the-valve 58-"on said pipe 5'7 leading from the pump 39 intothe bin 60'. -Into this bin is-placed the material either'from suitable receptacles or by a more orless continuous feeding from a conveyor orthe-like: From-the lower part of this bin there extends out overthe machine the downwardly directed spout 61 leadingthe incomingmaterialandonehalf-ofthetotal liquid'to beused. Somepor tionof the circular hopper '15 is always-beneath the outlet spout 61 but as the machin'e'is'operat edthe outwardly extending chutes 14 travelmore" orless slowly in an anticlockwise directionas the parts are seen in'Fig. 2 around thesepara'ting zone 52; Each chute 14 deposits its thin-layer-of material and liquid in a widelyspread lineover the whole width of the annular or ring-like zone 52 and this line of incomingmate'rialandliquid constantly advancesabout the zone 52-." After the material to beseparated is'thus deposited H5 upon the top of the separating-zone; thegoodmaterial being heavier than'the'lightwaste-mate rial gradually but relatively quickly settles down through the liquid in the separating zone=and passes into the narrowing space betweenthe inner andouter tanks and then into therestricted passageway '34 and continues-onto the bottom outlet 21 in said main tank." Meanwhile thelight or waste material remains floatinginth'e' liquid more or less near the upperlevel of; said liquid and is thus reached and-skimmed offfrom the top of the "separating zone by-theskimmer "53 which follows 'the-chute-14 which deliveredsuch light material. 'I'he'respective pairs of chutes and skimm'ers are 'adjustably located=relative to each 180 other circumferentially of the separating zone; This is accomplished byrotatingthe hopper--15 and its chutesl4-relative to the disk 44 which is fixed upon the shaft 42 and accordingly fixed relative to the-hub 43'thearms' 5ojan d the-in'-* ner and outer flanges 17 and lfi'towhich flanges are fastened the skimmers 53. Holes-45 already mentioned as provided in a row-about the-disk 44 are adapted to receive a bolt- 62 extendingthrough a part of eachchute 14 or through a lugor projection provided at the side of such chute. In practicethe chute'14' will be adjustedat-such a distance ahead of its skimmer 53 as to allowof the good heavy material'sinking'below, the. front edge of' the bottom'55 of the skimmer before the skimmer reaches such heavy material-butt as close thereafter asrpossibleso that the waste light'material will not havetime enough to-become sat? urated with the liquid inwhich it islnow travel mg enough "to become so heavy as to sink below 163 the forward edge of the bottom 55 of the skimmer 53. In practice the skimmers 53 will take from the separating zone about as much liquid as is being delivered into the separating zone with the oncoming material. Accordingly where the machine is delivering about half of the total liquid to the hopper ,15 the skimmers will divert about half of said total liquid from the zone 52 through the ports 54 and into the wide funnel 18 with the light material. This material will be then flowed off through the spout 31 of said funnel 18 into the outlet pipe 32 which conveys the said light material to the screen 33 which separates the liquid from the light material. The liquid taken from such light material it will be understood, is collected in asuitable vat to be used over again by being conveyed to the pump 39 and thence into the system of liquid pipes supplying the machine as a whole.

So as to quickly handle the good heavy material that has sunk through the separating zone it is desirable to provide more or less of a current to the liquid carrying said heavy material to the outlet 21. On the other hand, this downwardly moving current must not be ei fective in the separating zone or it would carry down with the good material some of the light waste materials. To accomplish this, I have provided the means for supplying a part of the liquid to the machine at a point below the said separating zone. This is accomplished by the numerous small outlets 35 provided in the upper portion of the water collar 78. From these ports there issues a steady stream of liquid totaling about one quarter of the total liquid supplied to the machine which one quarter is supplied to the said water collar through the pipe 3'7 going from the pipe system extending from the pump 39. It will be seen that the liquid escaping from these small ports has to pass outwardly between the top 29 and the funnel 18 and then downwardly in the relatively narrow space between the vertical wall 28 of the inner tank and the lower portion of the inner flange 17. This admits such incoming water to the space well below the separating zone and supplies said incoming water in a slight current moving downwardly and so towards the restricted passage 34. The quarter of liquid here introduced mingles with the liquid in the space below the separating zone and establishes a downward current which becomes faster as the space becomes more restricted through approaching the smaller end of the two cone-like portions of the two tanks. The movement of liquid out through said bottom port 21 carrying the good heavy materials is further increased by the injector-like action of the liquid supplied by the pipe 26. The liquid supplied by such pipe amounts to about one quarter of the total liquid used by the machine and through its upwardly directed stream in line with the conduit 23 operates to give more speed to the whole body of liquid carried through said conduit and so quickly and easily carries upwardly the good material which is actually heavier than the liquid carrying such material. This 'good material is delivered into the screen 25 which in an obvious manner separates the liquid from the material and one-half of the liquid coming into said screen into the vat therebelow and so in line to be taken by the pump 39 and thence used over again in the machine.

One defect in my said previous machine was that the single-chambered hopper did not divide the materials evenly and regularly between the two chutes but allowed the larger part to go to whichever chute had its hopper end opening closest to the main delivery spout. To overcome this defect I have devised the present construction of a two-chambered hopper with each chamber regularly receiving its even one-half of the total materials and liquid from the spout 61 and with each chamber regularly and positively delivering such separate one-half part of the materials and liquid to its own chute 14. The hopper 15 has two concentric chambers-a circular inner chamber 15 formed by wall upstanding from the bottom 81 of the hopper and thereabout an outer ring-like or annular chamber 15 formed by outer wall 82 upstanding from the bottom 81 of the hopper.

The delivery of materials and liquid from the main supply bin 60 is so arranged as to deliver one-half of the materials and liquid to the inner chamber 15 of the hopper and one-half of the said material and liquid to the outer hopper chamber 15 A convenient way of so dividing the feed from the bin is to have the spout 61 therefrom so arranged and adjusted that its outer or delivery end will have one-half of its width over the inner chamber 15 and the other half over the outer hopper chamber l5 as more particularly appears in Fig. 7.

The outer hopper chamber 15 connects by means of the opening 15 in the outer hopper Wall 82 to the inner end of the chute 14 for this outer chamber. The inner chamber 15 connects by means of opening 15 in the inner Wall 80 with the inner end of the other chute 14. It will be understood of course that the respective openings 15 and 15 and the inner ends of the respective chutes are arranged opposite to each other so that the said chutes may be in the main similarly shaped and of similar size and yet have the delivery ends 14 of said chutes spaced oppositely in the separating zone or one-half of the circumference of the separating zone from the delivery end of one chute to the delivery end of the other chute. The distributing chute taking its feed from the inner chamber 15 has a tunnellike extension 14 extending from the inner Wall 80 to the circle of the outer wall 82. The side walls and cover of this tunnel-like extension together with the adjacent portion of the bottom 81 of the hopper form an imperforate connecting tunnel from the inner chamber 15 through the lower part of the outer chamber 15 and so prevent any mingling of the materials and liquid at this point. Of course this tunnel extension projects upward from the bottom of the outer chamber 15 for part of the height of said chamber but 130 the walls 80 and 82 of said outer chamber are high enough to still provide sufficient depth over the top of said tunnel-like extension 14 to receive and deliver the material and liquid coming from the spout 61 even when the rotation of 35 the parts has brought the said tunnel-like extension directly under the delivery end of the spout 61. The peaked or curved top of such extension permits the flow of said material and liquid in either direction to the deeper parts of the outer 140 chamber and such material and liquid find their way at all times to the opening'15 leading to the chute of this outer chamber.

Preferably each chute 14 instead of extending outwardly or radially in a straight line from the 5 circle of the outer wall 82 of the hopper curves rearwardly relative to its direction of rotation.

As the machine is illustrated, the revolving parts rotate in an anticlockwise direction and accordingly the chutes are turned rearwardly or in an .5

A brackets '71.

apparentclockwise direction as they extend outwardly. This curving rearwardly graduallydeflects the outward current of liquid' and material into a circular current by the'time the material and liquid being delivered comes to the ends 14 of the chutes. Further means to prevent the uneven grouping or piling up of the material and liquid at the outer extremity of the delivery ends 14 and to insure the delivery of the material and liquid in an even, regular and thin layer over the whole width of the separating zone 52 consists of a series of curved deflectors 63, 64 and 65 formed or fixed in the bottom of the chutes and upstanding say about one-half an inch where the liquid and materialsare flowing from one inch to an inch and a half deep. These deflectors are located in the lower or outer half or third of the chutes, each beginning one after another at the concave side of the chute and curving inwardly therefrom'and towards the inner side of the chute and terminating a short distance back from. the outer or rearward end of the chutes as appears particularly in Fig. '7. This arrangement and proportioning of the deflectors lets some of the material and liquid flow over the tops of the deflectors but holds or deflects enough of both liquid and materials back towards the convex or inner side of the chute to result in an even distribution of both liquid and materials as they flow over the delivery end of the chute. I

Each chute 1; is conveniently formed as a curved, open-topped box tapering gradually to be larger towards its rear or outer end 14 where the width of the chute is almost the width of the separating zone.

' Referring now more particularly to the details shown inFigs; 4 and 5 it will be seen that-projecting downwardly from the bottom rear corners of each of the chutes 14 there are two spaced In each pairof these brackets there is rockingly mounted a shaft '72. From this shaft there extends downwardly and slanting rear,- Wardly a plurality of small closely spaced fingers '73; The materials and the accompanying liquid flowingoutwardly and rearwardly through the said chutes,.pass rearwardly over said rear ends 14 and out upon the upper surface of the said series of fingers 73' and the liquid passes downwardly through the spaces between said fingers while the fruit or vegetables ,or other materials being sorted slide downwardly and rearwardly of said fingers and are gently deposited upon the surface of the, liquid. It will .be understood that as suggested in Figs. 4 and 5 the said fingers extend somewhat into the liquid and are at a gentle anglerelative to the level of the liquid. This prevents any of the materials from being plunged violently into the liquid. The rearward flow of the liquid coming'out of the chute helps to slide the materials rearwardly of the fingers '73 at about the same rate 'of travel that the chute has in a forward direction so that the said material is deposited upon the separating zone Without any decided momentum either way. The materials are floated on of the lower ends of the said fingers by the trailing of. said fingers slightly in the liquid and partly :by the backward motion ofthe material and liquids upon the upper part of the fingers. Neither the trailing of these fingers '73 in the separating zone nor the constantly oncoming curved skimmer are .apt'to create a forward current in said separating zone because the skimmer takes away from the zone approximately the same amount of liquid as has beenjust added before the, skimmer by each chute. Any forward current created by the fingers trailing in the liquid is neutralized by the layer of liquid being delivered rearwardly from the said chutes. I

Con'veniently the shaft '72 is extended inwardly beyond the inner bracket '71 and is there provided with a radially projecting arm '74, the outer end of which can be set into any; one of aseriesjof closely spaced holes 75 provided in. a sectorshapedrack 76 havingits upper endfastened to the adjacent portion of the rear side64 of the chute. Thefree end of this rack may be sprung outwardly enough to disengage it from the arm '74 so as to allow said arm and accordingly the shaft '72 and the fingers 73 tobe adjusted sothat the fingers '73-willhave the right angle relative to the surface of the liquid or may project into the liquid more or less as desired. After said fingers are set to desired position the rack '76 will be allowed to spring back into holding engage.-. ment with said arm '74. I a

What Iclaim as new and desirev to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1.. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed with the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced rotatably. mounted flanges depending ,into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having aport therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and;s ome liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge-end extending outwardly and ,movable slowly with said flanges in a'circular path. above andsubstantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively-fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extending to the axis of the inner flange forrreceiving the light-weight material andsome liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks and a'skimmerlocated between said flanges and traveling therewith and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange. s

2. In-a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, maintank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being C1058? ly spaced at their lower partsto form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portionsof said tanksbeing spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced rotatably mounted flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and formingan annular separating zone, the inner flange having a port therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming. material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extend; ing outwardly and movable slowly withsaid flanges in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port therof and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from, the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks and a skimmer located between said flanges and traveling therewith and adjustably spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange.

3. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having a port therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks, a skimmer lo cated between said flanges and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange and means to suspend and rotate in unison said flanges, distributing chute and skimmer over said tanks and about a common vertical axis.

4. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having "a port therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks, a skimmer located between said flanges and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange and means toadjustably suspend and rotate in unison said flanges, distributing chute and skimmer over said tanks and about a common vertical axis.

5. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced rotatably mounted flanges depending into' the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having-a port therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly with said flanges in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extend ing to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks, a skimmer located between said flanges and travelingtherewith and spaced from the chute and shaped 'to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange and means for adjusting said skimmer vertically.

6. In a machine of the type described, the com bination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a small closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced rotatably mounted flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having a port therethrough, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to'the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly with said flanges in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part 1 of said chute being relatively flxed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks, a skimmer located between said flanges and traveling therewith and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange and a conduit connected to said bottom outlet of the main tank and leading upwardly with an outlet below the liquid level in the separating zone.

7. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced rotatably mounted flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having a port therethrough, a distributing'chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly with said flanges in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively flxed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port there- 150 of and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and some liquid, a conduit extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks, a skimmer located between said flanges and traveling therewith and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floating material and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange, a conduit connected to said bottom outlet of the main tank and leading upwardly with an outlet below the liquid level in the separating zone and means to supply liquid under pressure to said conduit in an upward direction to induce flow outwardly through the bottom outlet of the main tank.

8. In a machine of the type described, the combination of an open-topped, main tank having an outlet at the bottom thereof, a smaller closed tank fixed within the main tank, said tanks being closely spaced at their lower parts to form a restricted passage therebetween leading to said bottom outlet, the upper portions of said tanks being spaced farther apart, two circular, spaced, rotatably mounted flanges depending into the upper space between said two tanks and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having a port therethrough, means to supply liquid to flow out beneath said inner flange into the space below said separating zone, a distributing chute for feeding the in-coming material and some liquid to the said separating zone, said chute being movably mounted above said tanks with its discharge end extending outwardly and movable slowly with said flanges in a circular path above and substantially coinciding with said zone, the receiving part of said chute being relatively fixed over the middle of said tanks, a funnel secured to the inside of said inner flange at the port thereof and extending to the axis of the inner flange for receiving the light-weight material and someliquid, a cond 't extending from the lower end of said funnel out through said tanks and a skimmer located between said flanges and traveling therewith and spaced from the chute and shaped to direct the light floatingmaterial and some liquid inwardly to said port in the inner flange. V

9. In a machineof the type described, the combination of an annular deep open-topped trough having an outlet at its bottom, two circular spaced rotatably mounted flanges depending into the upper portion of said trough and forming an annular separating zone, the inner flange having ports therethrough, a hopper rotatably mounted above said trough and flanges on the axis of said flanges, distributing chutes extending outwardly from said hopper to said separating zone, liquidconducting means secured to the said inner flange at the ports thereof, skimmers located between said flanges and traveling therewith and spaced from the preceding chute and shaped to direct material and liquid inwardly to the ports in the inner flange.

10. In a machine of the type described the combination of an annular open-topped trough forming a separating zone in its upper portion and having an outlet therebelow, a hopper rotatably mounted above the trough on the axis of said trough, distributing chutes extending from said hopper to said separating zone, said chutes revolving with said hopper and curving rearwardly relative to the direction of their movement as they extend outwardly and spaced deflectors upstanding from the bottom of the outer and rearward portion of said chutes and beginning at the concave side of said chutes and curving away from said concave side as the deflectors extend towards the delivery end of the chutes.

GEORGE J. OLNEY. 

